Home Affordability Reaches Generational High, by International Business Times

If you have good credit and savings, now is a great time to buy. According to Zillow.com, “Homes are more affordable than they’ve been in the past 35 years.”

Not only have home values fallen in many key markets, making homeownership more accessible to the average buyer, interest rates are at historic lows, meaning that once a home is purchased, monthly payments are smaller than in our recent past.

Zillow notes that “today’s median home buyer can expect to pay about 17% of his monthly gross income on his mortgage, compared to a 25% average since 1975.”

In the 1980’s, when interest rates were dangerously near 20 percent, this would take up nearly 45 percent of a buyers gross monthly income. In comparison, today’s rates are an extreme bargain.

The main road block to homeownership at this time is access to credit. Although nearly one-third of all home purchases in recent months have been all-cash, that leaves the majority of the market shares requiring financing.

The tightening of lending standards in recent years, though, has been in direct response to the subprime lending trend during the housing boom.

Federal Reserve research indicates that a quarter of all mortgages in 2006 were subprime. This means that these loans were made to borrowers with credit scores below 620-660 and who were unable to put down the traditional 20 percent.

Today, buyers need credit scores in the 700s, with the higher the better. According to Zillow, “Applicants with FICO scores under 620 were virtually unable to get loans at any rate, thus being effectively excluded from the home-buying market. And those with FICO scores below 620 represent almost a third of the population.”

There has also been a return of the 20 percent downpayment. This is in your best interest, as it means savings when it comes to closing costs. “The difference between a 10% and 20% down payment means she now has to save up another $17,220 in addition to any closing costs.” (Zillow)

So, while it is more difficult for many homeowners to get into the market in today’s economy, for buyers who have good credit and adequate savings, homes may never have been more affordable.

Just because we can do an FHA loan at 580 FICO, does that mean we should? By: Jason Hillard

this post was originally published on home loan ninjas on July 2nd 2010

Perhaps the biggest advantage to being an affiliate branch of a mortgage bank is our inherently “hybrid” nature. We are the bank; we have more responsibility and control than ever before. However, there are some hard and fast guidelines that all loans we originate and underwrite “in-house” must adhere to. These are policies that ensure our good standing with the investors we sell the loans to. Without access to these investors, we wouldn’t be in business because we do not service loans.

One of these steadfast rules is a minimum FICO score of 640, regardless of the loan program. This is where the “hybrid” nature of our operation kicks in and really sets us apart from a traditional bank. If we have clients that don’t meet certain underwriting criteria as prescribed by our investors, we can broker the loan to another bank. Hybrid: part bank, part broker. It really is a beautiful thing because it allows us to assist more customers than before. And we can be faster on our feet because we aren’t always relying on third parties, and provides more options to the consumer.

A quick perusal of the matrix of banks we are brokered with yielded a surprising tidbit of information: we can still do an FHA loan down to a 580 credit score.

This, of course, brings up an important question…

Just because we can, does that mean we should?

My partner and I, as I have previously mentioned, rarely fill out a client’s home loan application the first time we talk to them. Many people out there don’t qualify for their “ideal” mortgage right away. Others don’t know how much income they truly make. The point is, we get to know the down and dirty details before we begin the process in earnest. Outside of a few exceptions, this is the only responsible way to do business.

Now many times one of those details is a “less than perfect” credit score. Frequently, this can be remedied in 6 to 12 months with a little hard work, diligence, and a willingness to pay the items that are negatively impacting the client’s credit score.

We help people climb back up. Its what we are supposed to do. We are advisors, not just salesmen.

Can you make a case in the post-bubble (fingers-crossed) era for doing loans for people with a 580 credit score?

Right now, we have quite a few clients that are in this range. Actually, we always do because we talk to a lot of people and we don’t believe in simply turning people down with no plan to become “approvable”.

So how do we determine whether or not to proceed?

The answer, to me, lies in whether or not the consumer is climbing the stairs up, or riding the slide down.

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Let’s say we had a client come in to review their credit history with us 6 months ago, and at that time, their score was 493. We highlighted a plan of action, and they set their minds to achieving those goals. Let’s now assume that client followed all the steps and now they have a 597 credit score. They mention that they saw a house for sale over the weekend that they absolutely fell in love with. They want to know if they can get approved to purchase the home. I am morally OK with my Originator beginning the process with them. They have worked hard to improve their situation, and want to take an advantage of the opportunity to buy a house they really want, rather than settling for something now and trying to upgrade later.

Now let’s look at another situation that isn’t uncommon. A borrower comes to my mortgage company to get pre-approved to buy a “to be determined” property. They have a 641 credit score at the time of application. They start house-hunting, but can’t find anything they want for 60 days. Then they find something, put an offer in, and the offer is rejected. They put an offer in on another house; this one’s a short sale. They go back and forth with the seller over the next few weeks about closing cost concessions and inspection addendums. Suddenly the credit report is over 90 days old, which means we have to pull a new one. Low and behold, the borrower has maxed out a credit card, or taken a new loan out and missed a payment. Their credit score has dropped to a 599. Should we go ahead with the home loan?

The answer is not so clear cut, but I am damn certain about this: we are not acting in the consumer’s best interest if we don’t at least review the situation with them and determine the delinquency’s validity. It’s not professional to negotiate a mortgage for someone who is on the slippery slope of credit decline.

We aren’t trying to be “negative”, just honest and professional. The collective irresponsibility of borrowers, brokers, lenders, and banks got us into the current mess, and professional responsibility is the only way to prevent a repeat.

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slide image credit Image: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net